Luckily, she did okay with pad training. She isn’t perfect, but she makes sure her feet are on a pad before letting go. Since she’s only inside in the evening and night, she’s not running around as much as she does during the day, so we can make sure there’s a pad available no matter where she is with us.
It took about two months to get to that point though, and I suspect if she had been much older when we got her, it wouldn’t have worked out. It helps that she’s fairly prissy as well; even outside, she won’t poop near her food and water, which I’ve never seen a chicken care about. She also won’t poop in her nesting box (not that she’s in there long, she’s never gone broody at all).
I’ve had a lot of backyard chickens, but I’ve never had an indoor one. Have you trained her not to crap all over the house?
Luckily, she did okay with pad training. She isn’t perfect, but she makes sure her feet are on a pad before letting go. Since she’s only inside in the evening and night, she’s not running around as much as she does during the day, so we can make sure there’s a pad available no matter where she is with us.
It took about two months to get to that point though, and I suspect if she had been much older when we got her, it wouldn’t have worked out. It helps that she’s fairly prissy as well; even outside, she won’t poop near her food and water, which I’ve never seen a chicken care about. She also won’t poop in her nesting box (not that she’s in there long, she’s never gone broody at all).
That’s really cool, I’m gonna have to try that with my next batch of chicks. They’re such awesome little critters, I’d love to have an inside one.
If all else fails, chicken diapers exist. More work day to day, but less messy